life style

“Methinks that the moment my legs began to move, my thoughts began to flow…Only while we are in action is the circulation perfect.”

Henry David Thoreau ( 1817 – 1862)

My nine-year-old son is in full-swing wrestling season. While this is his 5th, he is still learning some very basic wrestling concepts. Techniques and holds can be taught and learned. However, there are a few things a wrestler needs to learn that cannot be taught.

As I looked over some of my more recent emails, I noticed some similarities in these “learned but not taught” skills and running a business. Just like a wrestler, a business must master:

Balance

Leverage

Strength

Ability to Move

And most importantly:

Determination

I recently talked about Balance and Leverage. How is your ability to move?

Some wrestlers are not the most technical in their execution or graceful in their motion. They are just great “scrappers.” They intrinsically know how to move and they move quickly.

Strategy and planning are critical to your business success. But plans are useless without motion. Moving on an unexpected opportunity or being able to fend off and recover from surprise adversity can mean the difference between winning and losing.

Learn to move quickly by practicing these things:

Know your market and your competitors

Know what you do best and apply it

Know what you do worst and keep out of it

Understand your customers’ changing desires

Keep a cash reserve for quick investments or unanticipated liabilities

Develop a personal life-style of learning

My wrestling abilities changed dramatically in 1991 when I learned proper stance and motion. I had already been wrestling for six years, but learning how to move quickly made a bigger difference than any other skill I had learned to that point.

Be ready to move.

“I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life.”

Zig Ziglar

Balance in life is like riding a unicycle. If you do find a perfect balance, it only last a second. Whether it is a breeze, a slight tremble in the rider or the imperceptible shift of the earth, you become “off balance” and must again make adjustments.

If you want to stay still – you must constantly be making adjustments to maintain your position. However, if you want to move forward, you must take yourself out of balance and gently lean into it.

Progress and balance are nearly impossible to maintain simultaneously.

We inherently know that starting something new or significantly changing course in any endeavor in life requires more energy, concentration and devotion than keeping the “status quo”

So which are you after – do you want to stay where you are or do you want to move forward? The trick, of course is not keeping perfect balance.

The trick is knowing when to throw yourself off-balance, in what direction and by how much. If you lean into it too much you end up on your face. If you don’t lean into it enough, you stay where you are or even have to move backwards to recover.

A few things that to help keep you off balance enough without falling on your face:

Your “Don’t Do” list is probably more important than you “To Do” list

Know how much your family is willing to sacrifice for your dream.

Make sure you reward your family, friends, associates, partners, etc for their sacrifice. This can be as simple as sharing profits, small gifts, or a 4-day weekend away.

I found it interesting that he was considered one of the best programers in the company. He was probably considered one of the most productive – until they discovered that he spent all day watching cats say “I haz cheezberger??”

It got me thinking about all the things we do that take up our time that prevent us from having the business or lifestyle we want.

All businesses struggle with leveraging regardless of the size. Not only does hiring someone mean an increase in expense, but it also means letting go. When we are passionate about the success of something, we have a hard time letting it go.

A few questions to ask yourself when you start thinking about leveraging:

Is there someone who can do some of my billable work for less?

Is there work that I do now that takes me away from creating more revenue?

Who do I know that is better than me at this that I can collaborate with – allowing us to do what we each do best and creating even more value?

Cost is always a concern. Some work-arounds for these might include temporary help, subcontractors, or virtual assistants.

One thing is certain: It is nearly impossible to do everything and become successful.

Get some help.

BUSINESS QUESTIONS ANSWERED FREE!

The Silverdale Chamber of Commerce is now taking RSVPs for the Kitsap Business Forum to be held January 22 at 7:30 am in Cavallon Buiding 3rd floor conference room (2011 NW Myhre Rd, Silverdale, WA).

Nike Advertising Slogan
First Launched in 1988 by theWieden and Kennedy Ad Agency

“Just Do It” became a mantra for many of us in the 90s. A testament of the American “can-do” attitude. It struck a chord in those that want to become achievers.

Not only did I choose this particular “quote” because it encourages you to achieve – but it is a great example of good marketing. It has been at the core of Nike becoming the sneaker giant we now see it.

Nike historically came in a distant second to Reebok in the 70s and 80s. People generally saw it as a running or athletic shoe – not a fashion statement. Nike had lost even more ground when the aerobics trend hit and Reebok took much of that market.

The “Just Do It” campaign was different than what Nike had done before. It was intensely focused on the person wearing the shoe and the desired results and much less on the shoe itself.

They closely tied their product to high-achievers like Bo Jackson, John McEnroe and Michael Jordan. In one article I read, they made the clear observation that “Nike was able to attract those who wanted the image without incurring the pain.”

Nike also had several ads that were funny, but more of a chuckle rather than a belly laugh. They still portrayed the achiever mentality with a sense of humor. Anyone else remember Spike Lee’s “It’s gotta be the shoes?”

So what are the lessons we can take away for our own businesses?

Know your target market

Focus more on the “benefit” and not on the product, service or “bells and whistles”

Encourage action

A sense of humor is important – while not becoming the brunt of your own jokes

A word of caution: Most small businesses do not have the marketing dollars for a large “branding” or “image” campaign. I highly encourage a “direct response” approach to most businesses. Why? Because sales cure all. Image campaigns are great if you have a large distribution for your product or a sales force that can complete the sale for you. If you would like to know more about the difference between branding and direct response – click here.

BUSINESS QUESTIONS ANSWERED FREE!

The Silverdale Chamber of Commerce is now taking RSVPs for the Kitsap Business Forum to be held January 22 at 7:30 am in Cavallon Buiding 3rd floor conference room (2011 NW Myhre Rd, Silverdale, WA).

I had a very interesting conversation with someone this week. We were talking about the “fear of failure” and the term “fear of success” came up.

I’ve heard that term before but never really understood it. How can someone be afraid of success? This articlesuggests that Maslow (yeah, the guy with the Hierarchy of Needs and the pyramid) and his friend Frank Manuel coined the phrase. I don’t believe this fear is as pervasive as some suggest.

There are genuine fears of responsibility, not being accepted, or gaining prominence. Some of us use this “fear of success” as an easy excuse.

Why Many of Us Sabotage Ourselves:

Sometimes we are so beat up, run-down or self depreciated that we don’t put our best effort forward. As I was discussing this with my friend, we came up with the term “Bad News Bears Syndrome”. Here is what happens:

You feel burned out or defeated after putting it all out there and not accomplishing what you thought you should have. Instead of analyzing what went wrong or learning from it, you emotionally decide not to do it again. You then stop putting it all on the line. Now you can tell yourself, “Well I didn’t put as much into it as I could have.” We accept our role in the world – just like the Bad News Bears. This becomes a habit. You may have some success and you feel like a genius or just lucky because “I didn’t do much” but you can still use your excuse if it falls short.

Have you accepted your place? Are you ready to break out?

BUSINESS QUESTIONS ANSWERED FREE!

The Silverdale Chamber of Commerce is now taking RSVPs for the Kitsap Business Forum. Our first forum is a panel of experts (facilitated by yours truly):

If you are reading this, the world has not ended – yet. Our politicians battle about the impending fiscal cliff that will spin the entire US economy into a financial disaster worse than the Great Depression. At the same time, our National Debt continues to rise, random mass shootings seem to be happening everywhere, unemployment is still high, and any other headline you see in the news may impact your life at any moment.

How do you protect your business and family from all of these impending catastrophes?

I’ll call on Stephen Covey to start. It boils down to circles of influence. Most of us have little influence on the debate in Washington. We vote, write our congressman, stay abreast of what is happening, and let our voices be heard in various other ways. Beyond that, we have little influence.

What we can do is prepare our selves, businesses, and families for the most probable of situations?

Reduce or Eliminate Debt. You don’t need to fear what the banks or lenders will do when they are in need of cash. Any of them call “call the loan” at any time and expect all of the debt to be payed back. Without debt, all cash flow is completely in your control.

Cash reserves. Keep six months of cash put away in an account. I suggest two accounts: one for your business and one for your family. The amounts there do not need to be extravagant – just enough to keep either the business from folding if there is no revenue and enough to take care of the bare necessities of your family (food, shelter, heat). These accounts can also be used when an incredible investment opportunity presents itself.

Educate Yourself. When the Zombie Apocalypse comes, have a basic knowledge of survival techniques: find shelter, build fires, find clean water and food. Not only will it protect you from the Zombie Apocalypse, but should you ever get stranded in a snow storm or caught in a natural disaster you will be ready.The same is true for your business. Knowledge and skill will help your business survive almost any catastrophe.

Have a Plan. This is something that they taught us in elementary school. If there is a fire, you should have an escape route, a back-up and a meeting place. The same is true for any other catastrophe that may occur. Know what you would do if . . .

When you are prepared, fear will not be the basis of your decision.

We Need You!

We are putting together Accountability Partnerships! This is a new accountability and educational format I have developed based on Napoleon Hill’s Master Mind.

"I am very mindful that words cannot match the depths of your sorrow. But whatever measure of comfort we can provide, we will provide…. Newtown, you are not alone."

President Barack Obama
speaking at the memorial service of the Sandy Hook Tragedy

I heard the news driving from one appointment to the next. “Children from the school have been moved to a firehouse nearby where parents are arriving to pick them up. Some of these parents will not bringing their child home.”

I teared up at that moment. I reflected as I drove down Hwy 3 on my own children, ages 6 and 9.

I hugged them a little more eagerly when I picked them up that day. It made my daughter’s gymnastics demonstration on Saturday that much sweeter.

While we all ask why and how and who is to blame, let’s not overlook the treasures we have – our own children. Hug them a little tighter, kiss them a little more often, tell them how important they are a little more often.